“The defense is definitely the best part of our basketball game,” said Meadowview Christian coach John Robert Morton. “They have been playing together since junior high and you can definitely tell on the defensive end of the court. This isn’t the only team that has had a tough time with our defense.”

Meadowview trailed 35-32 with just over six minutes to play after a layup by Faith Miley, but the Lions wouldn’t score again the rest of the way. Christina Dabit made three free throws in the next two minutes, tying the game with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter.

Both teams went scoreless the rest of regulation, despite having wide open chances for layups. Meadowview’s Mallory Freine missed a layup with 20 seconds left and Victory raced the ball back down the floor. The Lions passed to a wide open Alex Brown, who made what appeared to be a game winning layup, only to have it wiped out by a traveling call.

Taylor Roberts’ layup off a missed Claudia Kendrick free throw gave Meadowview a 37-35 lead in overtime. That was the only made field goal of overtime for either side, but it was the only one the Lady Trojans needed.

Dabit did the rest, making five free throws that extended the Meadowview lead. The Lady Trojans also smartly controlled the clock and the tempo, keeping the ball out of Victory’s hands most of the extra period.

“[Our defense] is what makes our team good,” Morton said. ”Our offense could be a lot better but our defense keeps us in ballgames and allows us to compete.”

Meadowview led 16-15 at halftime, but after a big quarter from Rebekah Smith, the Lions grabbed a 30-29 after three quarters. Smith controlled the boards in the third quarter and added six points to give her team the lead.

The fourth quarter was set up for a shootout, especially after Dabit began the quarter with a three-pointer to give Meadowview a 32-30 lead. Smith answered with a layup through contact for a three-point play. Miley made a layup on the next Victory possession and then the offensive drought, which last over 10 minutes, began for the Lions.

“For them to come together and miss a few good shots and then be able to come together in the fourth quarter and in overtime, it has to be big,” Morton said. “I’d like to see it translate into the next few games that are coming up.”

Dabit led the Lady Trojans with 21 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Freine added 11 points for Meadowview and Roberts scored six.

Miley led Victory with 17 points and Smith had 15.

 

Victory 63, 

Meadowview 47 (Boys)

Meadowview Christian found itself in a huge deficit early and couldn’t recover against Victory Christian, who showed why it’s undefeated on the season.

The Lions (6-0) scored the game’s first 21 points Tuesday, hitting the Trojans with easy scores in transition and building an insurmountable lead. Victory won the game 63-47.

The Lions led by as many as 36 points before a late run by Meadowview tightened the final gap.

“If we had managed the first quarter a little better, maybe the fourth quarter would have been a little better,” Meadowview coach John Robert Morton said. “We’ve just ha The Lions never gave Meadowview a chance Tuesday.

Victory’s early barrage was spurred by Brady Scarbrough and Anthony Sharp who led the Lions in scoring. Scarbrough had 25 points and Sharp had 18.

“We always like to start fast with our press. That’s our big key and it gets our offense going,” said Victory coach Brent Harris.

“Our defense runs our offense and we like to push everything — run, push and score early.”

Everything seemed to be working Monday.

Meadowview found some offense towards the end of the first quarter and closed the gap to 33-10.

Victory quickly closed the door, outscoring the Trojans 14-7 in the second period and 15-7 in the third to put the game well out of reach.

Every time Meadowview did score, it seemed like the Lions were racing the ball back down their throat.

“It was transition from their end to our end,” Morton said. “They have a few athletes that beat us up and down the floor a few times and then a lot of breakdowns in our defense. I think our guys were so worried about the press that they forgot about everything else.”

Jevar McGuire had 15 for Meadowview and Clayton Thorton scored 11.